SW Montana general rifle season

[Jlrineer]

Hello Everyone!
I am headed to southwest Montana this year for the rifle general elk season. Between the "Gerber guys" Fresh Tracks episode and the 2nd most recent Elk Talk podcast I am well aware of the difficulty of the hunt. Big Fin has helped me set the groups expectations as realistic as possible. Based off of go hunt numbers and Mt FWP harvest data we've settled on units 300,302,328, and possibly 329. Due to work schedules and vacation times we're not able to leave Pennsylvania until November 8th, we'll be arriving in Dillon at a house we're renting sometime late on the 9th or early morning of the 10th. I am just wondering what kind of weather can we be expecting, is there usually a good bit of snow on the ground at that time? We're trailering some ATVs out with us in anticipation of not being able to traverse some of the roads. Would you recommend having chains for the four wheelers as well as the trucks?

I also looked up some block management areas on the FWP website and noticed some type 2 areas offer veterans preference on veterans day. I was just wondering if anyone ever had any luck with this. Two of us in the group are OIF vets and we were thinking of calling ahead to some of the BM land owners beforehand to go try our luck on those pieces of ground if there's still availability. I wasn't sure if they would be worth while heading to since the season will be well under way and the chances of elk already feeling the pressure on those lands might not make it worth it.

Any other info would be greatly appreciated, this is our first time hunting Montana so even the most basic advice will still be helpful.

Thanks in advance!

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

If I were in your shoes I would be narrowing down your potential areas. You will end up chasing your tail if you don’t just buckle down and hunt an area. Any of those units has more elk country than you and your party will be able to hunt in a week. There isn’t an easy bull in that country; when you aren’t finding elk they Are probably somewhere you will cringe to think about the pack out.

As for weather. I have hunted that week several times and have killed elk in the single digits and the 70s. You can probably have a better idea by about the end of October.

Have a great time!

 

[Pagosa]

The weather is different every year, but I expect an early fall/winter this year. I would expect teens - 40’s for typical weather. That area is where I hunt and it’s productive once you figure out a given area and hunt it regularly. Some of those BMA’s are productive, but it just depends on the weather and pressure on the surrounding properties. Good luck,

 

[Deleted member 20812]

This model is predicting a warmer fall.

 

[Retap45]

Continue to watch weather as it gets closer. I’ve hunted some units you mentioned but narrow in on a unit and a few specific spots within the unit. Big Country.

 

[Brow Tine]

The weather is a wild card. Honestly, I would recommend leaving the ATVs at home. And bring chains for the truck. A 4x4 vehicle with chains will get further than the ATVs. Even if no snow it will be freezing on an ATV. After October we pretty much parked the ATVs.

The block management land might be good on the first day of the season or a day after a storm. However, based upon your circumstances I would skip making reservations to hunt there.

Personally, I would start out hunting just as high as you can drive a vehicle. Then work your way to lower country until you find the elk. They could be high but my guess is they will be moving lower towards their winter range.

Also, you might explore private property boundaries because often the elk are bunched up there that time of year to find sanctuary. The Gerber guys hunted large expanses of public land. And it looked liked they started low and hunted higher. That's why I would take the opposite approach.

If you're staying near Dillion talk to the Game and Fish people there and ask which ranches do not allow hunting. Hunt the public borders of those ranches. Think helicopter episodes of Fresh Tracks and On Your Own Adventures. That's the strategy many locals will be using.

 

[Jlrineer]

If I were in your shoes I would be narrowing down your potential areas. You will end up chasing your tail if you don’t just buckle down and hunt an area. Any of those units has more elk country than you and your party will be able to hunt in a week. There isn’t an easy bull in that country; when you aren’t finding elk they Are probably somewhere you will cringe to think about the pack out.

As for weather. I have hunted that week several times and have killed elk in the single digits and the 70s. You can probably have a better idea by about the end of October.

Have a great time!

I have a plan A (unit 328) has 2 areas I think we can get into between BM access and public roads. I am usually the hunt planner of the group so I like to have a plan B-Z in case we end up hitting too many hunters, roads that we thought were public to get to an area that aren't public, or road closures due to weather. 2 years ago we were heading to ID for a fly in hunt and I put a lot of eggs into one basket, then mid July hit and a fire took out the air strip we were wanting to hunt out of, so i found myself quickly restarting the whole process on where to hunt, I might over do it a little now because of that. If something falls apart we always have something else lined up close by that we can try to explore. I am trying to e-scout some of those cringe worthy pack out areas and try there first.

Thanks for the info! Definitely helps.

 

[Jlrineer]

The weather is a wild card. Honestly, I would recommend leaving the ATVs at home. And bring chains for the truck. A 4x4 vehicle with chains will get further than the ATVs. Even if no snow it will be freezing on an ATV. After October we pretty much parked the ATVs.

The block management land might be good on the first day of the season or a day after a storm. However, based upon your circumstances I would skip making reservations to hunt there.

Personally, I would start out hunting just as high as you can drive a vehicle. Then work your way to lower country until you find the elk. They could be high but my guess is they will be moving lower towards their winter range.

Also, you might explore private property boundaries because often the elk are bunched up there that time of year to find sanctuary. The Gerber guys hunted large expanses of public land. And it looked liked they started low and hunted higher. That's why I would take the opposite approach.

If you're staying near Dillion talk to the Game and Fish people there and ask which ranches do not allow hunting. Hunt the public borders of those ranches. Think helicopter episodes of Fresh Tracks and On Your Own Adventures. That's the strategy many locals will be using.

Wow! That helps a lot. I never would have thought to call the local fish and game office to ask for which ranches don't allow hunting, genius! Also the four wheeler idea makes total sense I never thought about it being that cold and freezing your butt off on one of those then hiking in. That would be miserable, plus it'll save us a lot on gas.

 

[Brow Tine]

Sent you a pm.

 

[Werty]

Personally, "if you have the room", I'd bring an atv. I would rather beat up a 5k atv than my 40k truck on the two tracks. Just me!
Generally speaking it has been cold and snowy around the second week of November.
Other than the atv thing, I agree with everything Brow Tine is telling you. Good luck

 

[widnert]

Just an FYI on the ATV thing. I use one fairly extensively during Archery season to switch spots quickly. As said above, saves the wear and tear on the expensive truck and would rather ride a suspension truly built for that sort of thing. Second, and more important for your time frame, many of the roads in NFS close on or about Oct. 15 - typically the start of rifle season. A few roads remain open until Dec. 1 but, they are few. Check the MVUM for the area you're headed into and be certain of the road use limits.

 

[Pagosa]

This model is predicting a warmer fall.
View attachment 113902

 

[Pagosa]

I think NOAA got it wrong, lows in the teens and highs in the mid to low 30’s with snow next week.